Coordinated International Response Critical To Restore Health In Venezuela

The Lancet: Venezuelans’ right to health crumbles amid political crisis
Editorial Board

“…[Venezuela] is submerged in a complex humanitarian emergency due to the politico-economic crisis that started in 2008, progressively destroying the health care system. … [Along the] Venezuelan borders with Colombia and Brazil, … the movement of Venezuelan migrants has already resulted in a strain on both countries’ health care systems. Another worrying implication of the movement of migrants into neighboring countries is the quick dissemination of infectious diseases, such as malaria and Chagas. … In 2018, 82 percent of people in Venezuela (about 28.5 million people) and 75 percent of health centers around the country did not have a continuous supply of water … To aggravate the situation, shortages of electricity have been recurrently reported … Poor nutrition between conception and two years of age is threatening the physical, mental, and social development of new generations. … [T]he urgent implementation of effective measures to facilitate the coordinated international response to the Venezuelans’ plight cannot come soon enough. The right to health and to food cannot be politicized and the international community is failing if these universal rights are not restored in Venezuela” (3/23).

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